President Iohannis calls for European Union to impose additional sanctions on Russia

President Klaus Iohannis attended a videoconference coordinating meeting on Monday, organized by European Council President Charles Michel, in preparation for the European Council meeting in Brussels on March 24-25, which will be attended by the President of the United States of America, Joe Biden, Agerpres reports.

The coordinating meeting was also attended by the Prime Ministers of the Republic of Latvia - Krisjanis Karins, Luxembourg - Xavier Bettel, the Slovak Republic - Eduard Heger, Hungary - Viktor Orban, and Ireland - Micheal Martin.

According to the Presidential Administration, the talks focused on developments related to Russia's military aggression against Ukraine, with a focus on efforts to manage the humanitarian situation in Ukraine and support measures for refugees. Issues related to the implementation of EU sanctions on Russia and Belarus, as well as the continuation of the process of identifying new restrictive measures, were addressed.

The meeting also referred to strengthening the security and defense dimension of the European Union in the context of the adoption of the Strategic Compass, security of energy supply at European level, with a view to reducing energy dependence on Russia and identifying European measures to limit the effects of high energy prices. Economic issues related to the strengthening of the Internal Market, as well as the European Union's external relations, were also addressed, with a focus on relations with China and the situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

At the same time, leaders addressed progress on the Banking Union and the Capital Markets Union ahead of the extended March 25 Euro Summit.

The Presidential Administration states that, during his speech, President Iohannis informed about the efforts that our country continues to make for managing the flow of refugees from Ukraine, as well as about the direct support given to Ukraine through the humanitarian hub in Suceava, which benefits with the support of the European Commission and the member states.

President Klaus Iohannis stressed that this support must continue to be given, highlighting the difficulties faced by the remaining population in Ukraine and emphasizing the urgent need to reach a ceasefire and to protect the civilians in Ukraine.

"The President of Romania has called for the adoption by the European Union of additional sanctions against Russia, which will have a relevant impact on it," the Presidential Administration states.

The head of state reaffirmed the importance of diversifying sources and routes of energy supply, but also the need to develop interconnectivity between member states, in the context of the Union's major goal of reducing energy dependence on Russia.

On the subject of high energy prices, President Iohannis reiterated the need to identify convergent solutions at European level as soon as possible, drawing attention to the difficulties posed by the link between rising gas prices and electricity prices, which is having an unwanted impact on the market.

"President Klaus Iohannis has indicated that the imperative goal is to find effective short-term solutions that protect European citizens and the EU's economic competitiveness, so that industrial production and jobs in European economies are not affected in the long run by the current energy crisis," also shows the Presidential Administration.